On my last trip to New Jersey, I got to visit two of my teenage haunts, both of which frankly look a heck of a lot better today than they did in the 1970s. In fact, Hoboken was a real slum back then. I remember my neighbor asking my dad if he wanted to go in with him 50/50 on some apartment buildings in Hoboken and my dad telling our neighbor no, it was too risky. Today, Hoboken's an upscale gem. The clock tower in this shot is new, a replica of the original. The light rail train is also new... I must have passed through this station 1,000 times in my youth.

[www.railpictures.net]

And even more times, I visited this little station in Oradell, which didn't have the carriageway back then. This was a restoration done in the last ten years or so, to bring the station back to its original appearance. You might say this station is where I became a railfan.

[www.railpictures.net]

Much as they say you can't go home again, and it's all crap now... it was nice to see these things still there... sure, it would have been even more fun to see some Erie Lackawanna E8s and DL&W MUs, but you can't have everything.